Flourishing Hope
by ABcedario
Summary: Annabeth Chase didn't intend to fall for Percy Jackson, her cousin's best friend who went to another school. As fate would have it, his heart was already stolen by another girl. To top it all off, she needs to care for her two younger siblings, and her step-mother wants her dead (but not really). Or, the one where Annabeth falls for the rival school's goalie.


**Hey guys! I'm sorry for the mess I mad with this story and the lack of updates so i'm restarting from day one! I do really enjoy this story and hope you do too :) Enjoy!**

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 _I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it._

 _~ Jack Handey_

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"You're wrong. Nico? Class president? No way in _hell."_ At least, that's what Percy said, and a few weeks later he was proven wrong.

"Are you sure this is a presidency? It feels more like a dictatorship." Which is what Percy said, seconds after the results came in.

"Dude, I've been president for two minutes, stop criticizing my way of governing." Nico was blown away by his best friend's comments, did Percy Jackson not believe in him?

"I'm just saying… Nico di Angelo? Junior class president? Lies."

"And I'm just saying that I'm the best president this damn school has ever had."

"Fine, you win." Then, his eyes perked up. "Nico, Nico! Can I be your vice-president?"

"What? No!" Nico responded, laughing hard, "You're too late. Rachel's already my right-hand man- er, woman. And besides, you'd do a terrible job at it."

Percy scoffed, "I would be amazing. Anyway, I have an even better idea. We can do that thing that dictators do, where one person is president but in reality, it's someone _else_ making the decisions."

"Percy that would be a terrible idea. You have right around negative five leadership skills. And besides, I already _am_ an amazing president."

"I laugh at this. No! Even more, I mock this because it is pathetic. What did you even do to win? What kind of evil did you use? Can you teach me this evil?"

"Percy, the only pathetic thing in here is you. Now shut up, you're distracting me from my duty. On another note, let's hang out on Saturday?"

"Hmm, let me think about it. Let's make a pros and cons list."

Nico frowned, seeming a little lost.

"Ok," Percy started," Pro: you get to hang out with me, and that is amazing for you. Con: I get to hang out with _you_ , and that's- well, a little pitiful. Just to be honest."

Unfortunately, Nico didn't find it as funny as Percy did, which is how Percy ended up skipping class to clean himself of vanilla ice-cream in the bathroom. But Nico was a good friend, so he skipped class too so that Percy wouldn't be lonely. He was always a good friend, but even more so when it was for his personal gain.

" _Percy,_ Percy, my friend. My other half. The love of my life. My S.O. My d-"

"What do you want, Nico?" Quite frankly, Percy's patience was wearing thin. He just wanted to go home to his mother and blue cookies, but Nico couldn't seem to leave him alone.

"Are you still coming to my house on Saturday?" Nico's eyes looked hopeful, and Nico never looked hopeful.

"I never agreed to this." If he was honest, Percy would admit that he loved going to Nico's house. But he wasn't honest, he was a liar.

"Come on, Perce. Please. Bianca's boyfriend is coming that day, and you know how much I hate him." Percy knew that Nico adored Bianca's boyfriend, but he shook his head and smiled.

"Fine," he said, "I'm coming. But not because I want to, but because you are forcing me to."

Nico shouted and whooped in the bathroom, and Percy shushed him so that they wouldn't get caught. The poor boy was too innocent, but Percy loved him all the same.

"So we're going to my house, then?" Annabeth asked. The biggest project of Junior Year was due next Tuesday, and Thalia, Piper, Reyna, Hazel, and Annabeth couldn't seem to agree on when and where they could work.

"No!" Thalia complained while munching on some chips, "My house is better! We have air conditioning."

"But it's also a million miles away," Piper reminded her as Thalia glared. "How do you even get here on time?"

"I don't get here on time," Thalia simply said.

"Oh."

"Shut up guys," interrupted Reyna. "So Annabeth's house. Nice. But when? I can't do Fridays, I have cheerleading practice."

"Thursday?" Hazel asked.

"Who's available on Thursdays?" Thalia said, slightly rudely. Hazel looked hurt; Annabeth wanted to put her arms around the poor girl, she really couldn't understand what had gotten the girl into such a mood.

"I say Saturday," Annabeth suggested, growing tired of her friends' bickering. There was a chorus of agreements, before the group split. Together, Annabeth and Thalia headed out of the Olympia High School's parking lot.

"Hey, so I was thinking…" Annabeth began, before realizing that her best friend was not paying attention. Thalia was staring intently into her phone as if waiting for an urgent response. "THALIA!"

"What?" Thalia snapped.

"Who are you texting? Is it a mystery boy?"

"No one." But Thalia was scowling as she put her phone in her pocket.

"Seriously, are you okay? You know I'm always there for you," Annabeth said gently. Although Thalia didn't like talking about it, Annabeth knew how tough her home life could be.

"Just some shit with my mom. I'm fine." Thalia gave her a tired smile, but it didn't brush Annabeth's concerns away.

"Okay," Annabeth replied slowly, "But I was thinking we could focus on the Greek gods for our history project."

"Sure."

"And we could also focus on the architecture, it's so _beautiful._ One day we have to go to Greece together. It'd be the most amazing experience." Annabeth had begun rushing her words from her excitement. Just thinking about it was bringing a smile to her lips.

But alas, every word was wasted on Thalia, who was staring at her phone intently.

"Okay, Thalia. Seriously, who are you texting?" Annabeth said, very much annoyed. It was hard to Talk to Thalia when she was in one of these moods.

Thalia stayed silent for a few moments, before blurting out, "Promise to not get pissed."

"What?" Annabeth said, caught off guard. "What do you even mean by that?"

"Just promise," she repeated, not meeting Annabeth's eyes.

"Okay, I promise," Annabeth said, slightly concerned. What could've Thalia done to have her acting like this?

"So, I'm sorta dating this guy and-" Thalia began.

"Thalia, that's great!" Annabeth interrupted. For years, Thalia had been in love with their mutual friend, Luke Castellan. In Freshman Year, they had finally begun dating. Unfortunately, Luke had cheated on Thalia right after their one year anniversary. As their relationship crumbled, so did Luke and Annabeth's friendship. Ever since, Thalia could barely even look at men.

"It's your cousin," Thalia finished.

"What? Who?" Annabeth said, before bursting out laughing. " _Nico?_ You're dating Nico? Oh my God, Thalia. Why did you think I'd be mad?"

"I don't know!" Thalia said defensively, but the worried look had cleared from her eyes. "You're family."

"I see him like once a month. Speaking of, how did you guys even meet?" Annabeth asked.

"A party."

"I'm _so_ surprised."

"Shut up." Secretly, a small piece of Thalia wanted Annabeth to disapprove. She didn't understand why; maybe because she was too new on this boyfriend thing. Well, they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but Thalia knew it was coming.

"Ok. I'm good. Let's go then, I don't wanna get wet. These boots are too new."

The two best friends went running for cover in a local Starbucks because the drizzle was beginning to become a downpour. And together they enjoyed hot chocolate from Starbucks. Laughing happily, Annabeth didn't know it at that time, but Junior year was going to be the year her life turned upside down.

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 **Well, I certainly hope you enjoyed. It's kinda rough but it's just the beginning, I promise it'll get better. Anyways, have a great day!**

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 **Question of the Chapter (QotC): How old were you when you discovered fanfiction?**

 **I was actually 11 when I found , and it was via a Harry Potter. And I have yet to regret it!**

 **~ Love you always, AB.**


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